I have recently realised that I have 62 years left on my lease in Great Shelford. I now want to extend my lease but my freeholder is absent. What options are available to me?

If you meet the appropriate requirements, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be granted an extra 90 years by the Court. However, you will be required to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent would be useful to conduct investigations and prepare a report to be used as evidence that the freeholder is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a conveyancer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court overseeing Great Shelford.

I today plan to offer on a house that appears to tick a lot of boxes, at a reasonable price which is making it more attractive. I have just been informed that it's a leasehold rather than freehold. I am assuming that there are issues buying a house with a leasehold title in Great Shelford. Conveyancing lawyers have not yet been instructed. Will my lawyers set out the implications of buying a leasehold house in Great Shelford ?

Most houses in Great Shelford are freehold rather than leasehold. In this scenario it’s worth having a local solicitor used to dealing with such properties who can help the conveyancing process. We note that you are purchasing in Great Shelford so you should seriously consider shopping around for a Great Shelford conveyancing solicitor and be sure that they are used to advising on leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. As a leaseholder you will not be at liberty to do whatever you want with the house. The lease will likely included provisions such as requiring the landlord’sconsent to carry out changes to the property. You may also be required to pay a contribution towards the maintenance of the communal areas where the house is located on an estate. Your solicitor should advise you fully on all the issues.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in Great Shelford where we have witnessed a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have received contradictory information from local Great Shelford conveyancing firms. Can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can start the lease extension formalities for the purchaser on completion of the sale?

As long as the seller has been the owner for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the proposed purchaser need not have to wait 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

An alternative approach is to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

If all goes to plan we aim to complete our sale of a £ 150000 garden flat in Great Shelford on Wednesday in a week. The landlords agents has quoted £<Macro 'feeRangeWithVAT'> for Landlord’s certificate, building insurance schedule and previous years service charge statements. Is it legal for a freeholder to charge an administration fee for a flat conveyance in Great Shelford?

Great Shelford conveyancing on leasehold maisonettes ordinarily involves fees being levied by landlords agents :

• Completing pre-exchange questions
• Where consent is required before sale in Great Shelford
• Copies of the building insurance and schedule
• Deeds of covenant upon sale
• Registering of the assignment of the change of lessee after a sale

Your lawyer will have no control over the level of the charges for this information but the average costs for the information for Great Shelford leasehold property is £350. For Great Shelford conveyancing transactions it is customary for the seller to pay for these costs. The landlord or their agents are under no legal obligation to answer such questions most will be willing to do so - albeit often at exorbitant prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no law that requires fixed charges for administrative tasks. Neither is there any legal time frame by which they are obliged to provide the information.

What are the common problems that you witness in leases for Great Shelford properties?

There is nothing unique about leasehold conveyancing in Great Shelford. Most leases are unique and drafting errors can result in certain sections are wrong. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

• Repairing obligations to or maintain elements of the building
• A duty to insure the building
• A provision for the recovery of money spent for the benefit of another party.
• Service charge per centages that don't add up correctly leaving a shortfall

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property primarily because it impacts on the ability to obtain a mortgage on the property. Accord Mortgages Ltd, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and Aldermore all have express conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. Where a lender has been advised by their lawyers that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to pull out.

I am the registered owner of a split level flat in Great Shelford, conveyancing having been completed in 2000. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Corresponding flats in Great Shelford with an extended lease are worth £206,000. The ground rent is £65 charged once a year. The lease runs out on 21st October 2081

With just 55 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to range between £31,400 and £36,200 as well as professional fees.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we are not able to advice on the actual costs without more comprehensive due diligence. You should not use this information in tribunal or court proceedings. There may be additional issues that need to be considered and clearly you want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.